As of January 1, 2023, there were approximately 3.8 million people younger than 20 years living in the Netherlands. The largest age group was formed by those between 40 and 65 years old. Together, this age group numbered nearly six million people. The retired population of the Netherlands consisted of approximately 3.5 million people. Considering this make-up of Dutch society, it is not surprising there are so many debates on increasing the retirement age. The ratio of the non-working population to the working population has decreased between 1950 and today.

Old age pensions grew steadily

When reaching the retirement age, there is an insurance scheme which covers everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands, regardless of nationality. This basic pension scheme is called AOW (National Old Age Pensions Act), though for those who have not lived in the Netherlands for a full 50 years, the pension is proportional. Between 1998 and 2019, the number of old age pensions grew steadily, reaching a total of 3.42 million pensions in 2019. As of the same year, disability pensions had approximately 3.84 million members, which is an increase of 276,000 pensions compared to the previous year.

Decrease in company pension funds

The number of company pension funds decreased drastically over a period of 21 years. In 1997, 957 pension funds by companies were registered, whereas by 2019 this decreased to a total of just 148 company pension schemes.

In 2023, 17.81 million people were living in the Netherlands. The most populated age group was 50 to 55 years old, with 1.28 million people in that age range. Of these, 635,000 were male, and 640,000 were female. The distribution between male and female population was somewhat equal for all age groups, until the highest age groups. For 100 years and older, there were around 2,200 females and only about 400 males, while the distribution for people between the ages of 95 to 100 was 5,700 males and 18,100 females.

How is the population distributed by province?

The Netherlands counts 12 provinces, and naturally, the Dutch population is not distributed among them equally. In 2022, the most populated province was South Holland which includes cities such as Rotterdam and The Hague with 3.67 million residents. North-Holland, which includes the Dutch capital Amsterdam, had 2.85 million residents. The least populated province was that of Zeeland, with a mere 383,000 residents.

How does the Dutch population compare to the rest of Europe?

In 2021, the Netherlands had the eleventh highest population in Europe, with 17.17 million residents. This puts the Netherlands above Belgium with 11.63 million and below Romania with 19.12 million. Russia is the most populated European country with 145.91 million residents, meaning it has about 8.5 times the population of the Netherlands. The least populated country in Europe other than Vatican city is Gibraltar, with 34,000 inhabitants, meaning it has 0.2 percent of the population of the Netherlands

The total population in Netherlands was estimated at 18.0 million people in 2025, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Netherlands Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key figures on the population of the Netherlands.

The following information is available: - Population by sex; - Population by marital status; - Population by age (groups); - Population by origin; - Private households; - Persons in institutional households; - Population growth; - Population density.

CBS is in transition towards a new classification of the population by origin. Greater emphasis is now placed on where a person was born, aside from where that person’s parents were born. The term ‘migration background’ is no longer used in this regard. The main categories western/non-western are being replaced by categories based on continents and a few countries that share a specific migration history with the Netherlands. The new classification is being implemented gradually in tables and publications on population by origin.

Data available from: 1950 Figures on population by origin are only available from 2022 at this moment. The periods 1996 through 2021 will be added to the table at a later time.

Status of the figures: All the figures are final.

Changes as of 8 September 2025: Final figures with regard to population growth for 2024 and final figures of the population on 1 January 2025 have been added.

When will new figures be published? In the last quarter of 2026 final figures with regard to population growth for 2025 and final figures of the population on 1 January 2026 will be added.

This statistic shows the total population of the Netherlands from 1950 to 2023. In 1950, the total population of the Netherlands was around 10 million people. By 2023, the total population had increased to over 17.81 million people.

Population: East Netherlands data was reported at 3,603.000 Person th in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,584.000 Person th for 2015. Population: East Netherlands data is updated yearly, averaging 1,991.000 Person th from Dec 1899 (Median) to 2016, with 118 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,603.000 Person th in 2016 and a record low of 900.000 Person th in 1899. Population: East Netherlands data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G001: Population: Annual.

This statistic shows the population of the Netherlands from 2013 to 2022, by education level. Between 2013 and 2022, the share of people who with a master's degree or PhD increased. Whereas in 2013, **** percent of the population had a university master's degree or higher, by 2022 this had grown to **** percent.

In the year 1800, the population of the region which makes up the present-day Netherlands was approximately two million people. The beginning of the 19th century was a tumultuous time in Dutch history, as the region had recently been annexed by Revolutionary France; however the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was eventually established in 1815 (which also included present-day Belgium and Luxembourg) and a period of economic growth, modernization and high quality of life followed. In spite of this economic prosperity, religious tensions between the predominantly Catholic south and Protestant north led to a split in the kingdom in 1839, where it was eventually partitioned into Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, along borders very similar to today's. Rapid modernization and liberalization continued throughout the 19th century, and in 1900 the population of the Netherlands was over five million people.

Early 20th century The Netherlands was free to continue economic expansion, both in the metropole and in its colonies, uninterrupted for much of the first half of the 20th century (partly facilitated by its neutrality in the First World War). This resulted in a steady rise in population, which doubled to ten million within half a century. Population growth would even continue throughout the Second World War, as the Netherlands would be spared from much of the casualty-heavy conflicts seen in neighboring countries; however, most estimates concur that approximately 210,000 Dutch people died as a result of the war, half of which were Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The war also saw the end of Dutch colonization in the East Indies, as Japan annexed the region of present-day Indonesia in 1942; although the Dutch tried to re-colonize the region after the war, Indonesia became an officially recognized independent nation in 1949.

Netherlands today Population growth in the Netherlands would continue largely uninterrupted in the post-war years, until the 1970s, when it began to slow as Western Europe experienced periods of recession and high unemployment. Improvements in contraceptives and education also saw birth rates fall at their fastest ever rates in the 1970s. Following the recovery of the Dutch economy in the 1990s, population growth would resume once more, continuing steadily into the 21th century. In 2020, the Netherlands is estimated to have a population of just over 17 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. For its size, the Netherlands has one of the strongest economies globally, and often ranks among the highest in terms of development, freedom and quality of life.

Complete population data for Netherlands showing how many people live in Netherlands from 1960 to 2024

Analysis unit

Persons Persons not organized into households; age grouped into categories; virtual census

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: no - Vacant Units: No - Households: no - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: no

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: no - Households: Individuals living in the same dwelling and sharing at least one meal. - Group quarters: Group of persons who share a common roof and food because of work, health, religion, etc.

Universe

The entire population of the country: 15,985,538 persons. Microdata are available for 1.19 % of the population, but exclude the institutional population.

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Central Bureau of Statistics (Statistics Netherlands)

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 189725.

SAMPLE DESIGN: 1% sample of the total population, consisting of records of persons prevailing in most sources

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Dependent on source: register or survey

Monthly and long-term Netherlands Population data: historical series and analyst forecasts curated by FocusEconomics.

Netherlands NL: Population: Growth data was reported at 0.600 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.532 % for 2016. Netherlands NL: Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 0.636 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.952 % in 1960 and a record low of 0.161 % in 2006. Netherlands NL: Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Netherlands Population: Male data was reported at 8,527.000 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 8,475.000 Person th for 2016. Netherlands Population: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 5,619.000 Person th from Dec 1899 (Median) to 2017, with 119 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8,527.000 Person th in 2017 and a record low of 2,521.000 Person th in 1899. Netherlands Population: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G001: Population: Annual.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for the Netherlands (SPPOPGROWNLD) from 1961 to 2024 about Netherlands, population, and rate.

Netherlands NL: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 11.696 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 11.018 % for 2010. Netherlands NL: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 10.211 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.696 % in 2015 and a record low of 7.927 % in 1990. Netherlands NL: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

This table includes figures about the population on the islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius broken down by gender, age and country of birth on 1 January. Since 10 October 2010, the islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius have been given the status of 'special municipality' of the Netherlands. On the grounds of their new status as 'special municipality', they are officially classified as public bodies of the Netherlands.

Data available from: 2011

Status of the figures: The figures in this table are final.

Changed on 19 May 2025: Figures of 1 January 2025 have been added.

Changed on 5 December 2024: None, this is a new table. This table succeeds the table CN; population, sex, age and country of birth; 2011-2024. See section 3. The following changes have been implemented compared to the discontinued table: - Persons born in countries that have since disintegrated (e.g. the Soviet Union) have been assigned to one of the countries that emerged from these old countries based on birthplace information. See also notes on 'Country of birth'; - The origin countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey have been assigned to continent Asia (was Europe);

When will new figures be published? New figures of 1 January 2026 will be published in the second quarter of 2026.

Actual value and historical data chart for Netherlands Population Ages 65 And Above Male

Netherlands Population: 80 Years and Over data was reported at 779.000 Person th in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 764.000 Person th for 2016. Netherlands Population: 80 Years and Over data is updated yearly, averaging 148.000 Person th from Dec 1899 (Median) to 2017, with 119 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 779.000 Person th in 2017 and a record low of 35.000 Person th in 1900. Netherlands Population: 80 Years and Over data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Netherlands. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.G001: Population: Annual.

Actual value and historical data chart for Netherlands Population Female Percent Of Total

In the last decade, the average age of the Dutch population increased year on year. Whereas the population had an average age of around 30.8 years in 1950, the average age reached 42.5 years by 2023. As a result, in this period the grey population pressure (the ratio of the non-working population compared to the working population) increased as well.

 Historical development  

Since the 1950s, the average age of the population has increased significantly. In nearly 70 years, the population’s average age grew by over ten years. This also caused a more than doubling of the grey population pressure in the country in this period, from 14 percent in 1950 to 33.1 percent in 2020. By 2060, the grey population pressure in the Netherlands is forecast to reach nearly 50 percent, meaning that for every working person in the country, there will also be a non-working person.

Comparison to Belgium  

The average age of the population in the Netherlands was comparable to the average age of the population in neighboring country Belgium, which reached 41.87 years in 2020. In Belgium too, the average age of the population is expected to increase in the future. By 2022, the average age here is forecast to reach 42.08 years.